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Strong Female Characters Still Underrepresented in Hollywood, New Study Shows

The "It's a Man's (Celluloid) World" study revealed that women are still dramatically outnumbered by men when it comes to playing protagonists, major characters and speaking roles.

A new study shows that despite the wealth of talented actresses in Hollywood, women remain underrepresented when it comes to major film roles.

The "It’s a Man's (Celluloid) World" survey, which was released by Martha M. Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, revealed that women accounted for only 15 percent of protagonists, 29 percent of major characters and 30 percent of speaking characters in the top 100 (domestic) grossing films of 2013.

The study showed that only 13 percent of the top 100 films featured equal numbers of female and male characters. Those that were cast were younger than their male counterparts and less likely than males to have clear goals or be portrayed as leaders.

"Overall, we have seen little movement in the numbers of female protagonists and females as speaking characters over the last decade," said Lauzen in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Moreover, female characters are less likely than males to have identifiable goals or to be portrayed as leaders of any kind."

Covering analysis of more than 2,300 characters appearing in the top-grossing films, the study compared them with findings from 2011 and 2002, considering a total of 7,000 characters in 300 films.

Along with being especially relevant in light of Cate Blanchett's Oscar win for playing a dominant female role in Blue Jasmine, the study also includes measures that are directly relevant to the recent discussion of popular tests assessing the quality of film portrayals of female characters, such as the Bechdel Test, which asks if a work of fiction has at least two women who talk to each other about something besides a man, Lauzen explained.

However, rather than just raising the general population's awareness of the underrepresentation of female characters, the new study considers the centrality of female characters to the story, as well as whether they have identifiable goals and are portrayed as leaders.

The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film conducts an extensive agenda of original research documenting women's representation onscreen and behind the scenes in film and television and investigating the reasons for continuing inequities in the entertainment industries.